Good music heals you & I hope John Osborne is listening to his favorite play list... take care of yourself John and thanks for taking care of our ears with summertime jazz in the city. This gig has evolved and changed and I see brightness down the road. Be well, be strong & listen to the Doctor, brother!

So sad to hear this, but happy this event isn't gone forever. Kudo's to everyone trying to make this happen in a bigger way. A special shout-out to John Osborne and Evan Plotkin. This city needs more events like this and everyone needs outdoor jazz in the summer!

As a former teacher, I'm glad to see there are more supportive posts towards teachers than there are "crucify the teacher" comments. I can picture a teacher doing it as a joke, then the class clown playfully takes a piece and puts it on his mouth, kids laugh, then a handful of kids join in, and the teacher plays along and everyone gets a laugh... then, hopefully the teacher steers it back to the subject and everyone's had a chuckle. There's the chance it was malevolent, but with 5th graders and the fact the teacher didn't apply the tape... I'll bet it was relatively innocent. To everyone ready to crucify the teacher - please, volunteer for a few hours in an urban, public school of your choice before you get too vocal.

Funberries nailed an important question: What will happen w/regards to organized crime
if Springfield gets a casino? Where large amounts of cash trade hands there will always be some organization that acts as leeches for revenue. And it won't be limited to a state agency... Keep an ear out for a big sucking sound once the slots and tables start raking cash into a drawer. Two for me one for you, three for me one for you, all for me, screw you... repeat.

Great news to hear about some much needed technology to help keep the "X" a bit safer. Security cameras are not a panacea, they are only as good as the "eyes" watching it. But this kind of investment is a good one, and the time certainly is now.

Let's see "yellow".. .the church basically invented social services, caring for the poor and housing and educating them. Some people value that kind of stuff.You can choose to focus on the sex crimes of the clergy and the fools in leadership who ignored it. That's easy... Or you could see the amazing amount of good that happens by 99.99% of catholics. I've always maintained that, with any organized religion, "where more than 2 or 3 are gathered are a bunch of humans and someone is going to screw things up". Stick your head in the sand if you wish though... that's often a bit easier.

Thank you wilbratalk for seeing that legislation to punish urban gun crimes doesn't take away your right to defend yourself. Too often the suburban gun advocate freak out when cities try to reclaim their streets with help from the police and focus on illegal and usually stolen firearms. Kudo's to Allen & Fenton for this proposal. It's not Tosado's or anyone else's idea; it's a logical and civilized approach to make our courts better and FASTER at removing criminals from our urban neighborhoods. We will not be able to write laws for better parenting and society is challenged to provide great urban school systems that cure all ills. Congratulations again to Allen & Fenton for including dropout prevention and educational measures. But a loud & sincere THANK-YOU COUNCILORS for being genuine leaders in a city needing swift action on a real challenge. To the white, suburban gun advocates - take off your shooting goggles, read the entire article, buy a gun safe that actually works and try decaf.

Congrats & Kudo's to the DA for using 21st technology to communicate with people. No matter how hard you try, some people will always find a complaint where praise is due. Keep up the good work and PLEEEEEASE make sure the site is active, updated and responsive to the public that uses it.

@ Joey1023 - It been on the books for a long-time -it's legal to confiscate (not "steal") property used in certain crimes. If I go hunting or fishing w/o proper licensure, the law can take the vehicle I used for transport. BTW - these 2 city councillors are the furthest thing from bullies.

Gun owners - curb your paranoia & stop freaking out... These 2 councillors are directly addressing illegal gun crimes and criminals - not your law abiding deer, bird hunter or Smith & Wesson Academy target shooter. Fenton & Allen rise to the top of their peers in effective leadership compared to most of their colleagues. They want to work on: Creation of a Gun Court, Reviving a Youth Commission, Develop a Safety Certification of owners, bouncers and managers, work w/Congress to fix gun checks and endorse the Massachusetts Dropout Prevention Legislation. Drink some decaf folks... stop threatening good anti-crime with attitudes like "prying your gun from your cold, dead hands". We all need to work toward efforts that reduce gun crimes in a city that needs help. Keep up the good work Fenton & Allen. Gun owners - read the fine print and stop hiding behind silly rhetoric and unsubstantiated threats on your firearms. Also lock them up and don't forget to report when they get stolen... and by all means, keep them clean and enjoy their proper, legal use.

With or without a badge - hitting someone with a metal object that many times when sufficiently outnumbered is simply too violent. I get self-defense, I believe in genuine self-defense; but once you're up by a half a dozen strikes - it's time to stop swinging. Badge or no badge - it is no longer self-defense when you're that many punches ahead.

Glad they're all safe BUT - Turn off the computer kids... walk in the woods, look at the sun, think about north, east, south and west. These "rescued" hikers need to spend 10 hours each cleaning up trash from the Stebbins Preserve and 3 hours cooking a serious dinner for the 1st responders involved. Oh, and $20.00 for beer, wine, coffee, ice cream or other preferred treat per 1st responder/per each rescued hiker.... just because.

my son went with his classmates from Springfield Renaissance. Kudo's to America for showing up to talk to students and not being a "Kardashian". Being a successful, famous person can happen without making you act foolish. Keep it up sister!